Broadcast Beat Magazine 2017 IBC Show - Page 74

LOOKING FOR THE
PERFECT SHOT?
IT STARTS WITH SUPPORT.
By ELISABETTA CARTONI,
PRESIDENT AND CEO, CARTONI
My family has been design-
ing and manufacturing cam-
era support systems for more
than 80 years. My grandfather
Renato and later my father,
Guido Cartoni, built gyro cam-
era heads in the ‘40s.
Back then, popular Bell &
Howell and Mitchell cameras
were bulky and heavy. Supports
were mainly gear-heads on top
of columns or dollies. Cameras
have changed a lot since then.
Most are smaller and easier
to use. Support systems have
gone through a similar evolu-
tion. They, too, are lighter and
easier to control. Yet, the under-
lying principal behind camera
support remains unchanged.
A good support system pro-
vides a stable platform for the
camera. It also offers perfect
counterbalance and repeatable,
smooth drag so that the opera-
tor can control the camera with
ease and confidence.
tightly knit group. They knew
their craft inside-out as most
had risen through the ranks of
a rigorous apprentice system.
Cameras were expensive to own
and difficult to operate. You had
to know every detail if you were
going to succeed on a film set.
Back then, none of our heads or
tripods came with an instruc-
tion manual. There was nothing
we could tell our customers
that they didn’t already know.
The digital age has changed
that. Today’s cameras are, by
and large, smaller, easier to
One thing that has changed
a lot are the users. In the old
days of camera heads, cinema-
tographers and camera oper-
ators were a relatively small,
74 • Broadcast Beat Magazine • www.broadcastbeat.com
operate and less expensive than
cameras of the past. As a result,
they have expanded the field of
cinematography. People, who in
the past wouldn’t have dreamt
of owning a 35mm camera, now
might have several DSLRs. That
is a welcome development as it
has enabled many new people
to become operators and cin-
ematographers. It’s empowered
innovative forms of creativity.
But it also means that many
people who work with cameras
today have not had the benefit
of coming up through a well-
established training system. As